Lumber-piling machine



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l H. DANIELS.

LUMBBR :FILING MACHINE.

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H DANIBLS LUMBBR FILING MACHINE.

110.461,323. Patented Oct. 13,1891.

(No Model.)

4 Sheets- Sheet 3.. H. DNIELS. LUMBB'R FILING MAGHINL 110.461,323.Patented Oct. 13,1891.

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(No Model.)

H DANIELS LUMBBR PILING MACHINE.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOIVARD DANIELS, OF GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- l HALFTO JAMES II. SIMONSON, OF FORT IVAYN E, INDIANA.

'LuMBER-PlLiNG MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 461,323, dated October13, 1891.

Application filed April 9, 1891. Serial No. 388,332. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HOWARD DANIELs, of Greenville, in the county ofGreenville and State of South Carolina, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Lumber-Filing Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to an improved machine for piling lumber on cars,preparatory xo to being dried in a kiln or otherwise.

rlhe object of my invention is to construct.

a machine which shall quickly and evenly pile the lumber, depositing theseparatingstrips in a uniform manner, the machine rex5 quiring theattendance of a single operator to accomplish these results.

XVith this -obj ect in view my invention consists in the peculiarconstruction of the several parts, their novel combination or arrangezoment, all of which will be more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings forming a part of this speciiication, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a top plan view.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the strip-holding box. Fig. 4 is a sideelevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a view of the gear-operating mechanism.Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the gearing. Fig. 7 is a detail View ofthe lumber-hook-op- 3o erating mechanism somewhat modified. Fig. 8 is anenlarged view of the modified form of hook.

In carrying out my invention I employ a main frame A, composed of thefour uprights a, properly connected and braced at their upper and lowerends, and near the bottom of said frame are arranged the tracks a', uponwhich the lumber-car is adapted-to travel. The main frame A isessentially rectangular 4o in shape, and surrounding the same is avertically-movable rectangular frame B, said frame having wheels bjournaled near the corners of the same, which wheels are arranged Withinthe frame and adapted to travel upon the tracks b', secured to theopposite 1nner sides of the four uprights. The movable frame B is thusadapted to be moved upon the main frame, and in order to operate saidmovable frame I employ the vertical threaded 5o rods O, which workthrough the nuts C', said nuts being arranged in timbers C2, rigidlysecured to the opposite ends of the movable frame and forming a partthereof. The upper ends of the threaded shafts are journaled in theopposite upper cross-beams, the lower ends being journaled incross-beams a2, arranged near the bottom of the main frame and below thetracks 0.. A horizontal gear C3 is mounted upon the lower end of eachthreaded shaft, said gears meshing with the 6o vertical gears O4,mounted upon the ends of the horizontal shaft D, journaled in the bottomcross-beams of the main frame. The horizontal shaft D is divided nearone end of the same, and upon the opposing ends of the divided portionsare secured the collars D', the free ends of said collars being formedwith' a feathergroove d, and between the collars D is interposed a shaftD2, the ends of said shaft working in the collars D', the feather 7o orspline d sliding in the groove d, whereby the shaft D2 will rotatewith'the divided portions of the shaft D, but have a longitudinalmovement between the same.

Gear-wheels D3 and D4 are mounted upon 75 4the shaft D2 near the ends ofthe same, and

between the said gears D3 and D4 is arranged a gear E, said gear E beingmounted upon the end of a shaft E', arranged at right angles to theshafts D and D2. The shaft E is 8o revolved by meanshereinafterdescribed, and

as the gear E revolves the gears D3 and D4 are brought alternately intomesh with the same by moving the shaft D2 longitudinally in the collarsD', and in order to operate the 85 said shaft I employ a yoke F,arranged between the gears D3 and D4, the shaft D2 turning loosely inthe members of the same. A pitman-rod F is attached to the bow of theyoke, the opposite end of the rod being con- 9o nected to an arm of anelbow-lever F2, pivoted upon one of the cross-beams a2, and connectedwith the said elbow-lever is a handrod F3, said rod extending upwardupon the exterior of the movable frame, its upper end being slidablyattached to the upper portion of the main frame.

A platform G is secured to the lower portion of the movable frameadjacent to the hand-rod F2, the operator standing on this roo platformto regulate the operations of the machine. It will now be seen that thehandrod is within easy reach of the operator and by moving the same upor down the gear D3 or D4 will be thrown into mesh with the wheel E,thus revolving the shafts D and D2, the gears C3 and C4 and the screw Celevating or lowering the movable frame according to the direction thescrew is turned, and it will of course be understood that the hand-rodmay be moved and held at an intermediate position,when neither of thegears D3 nor D4 will 'mesh with wheel E and the movable frame orcarriage will remain stationary. A

A horizontal rectangular frame A is arranged upon one side of the mainframe, the shaft E being journaled in the lower timbers of said frame,and 'upon the outer end of this shaft is mounted a gear E2. A horizontalshaft H is also journaled in the bottom timbers of the frame A near theouter end of the same, said shaft being arranged at right anglesl to theshaft E',and upon its outer endis-provided with a drive-pulley g. A gearH is also y mounted upon the shaft H, said gear meshing with the wheelE2 and revolving the shaft E', which operates to raise and lower thecarriage. The shaft H is provided also with a sprocketwheel H`f2intermediate its ends. A shaft I is arranged above the shaft H andparallel with the same, said shaft I being supported the proper distancefrom shaft H by means of the rods J J, said rods having j ournal-boxesjj at their ends, in which the shafts H and I revolve. The shaft I isalso provided with a sprocket-wheel H3, a belt H4 connecting the WheelsH2 and H3 and transmitting motion from the shaft H to the shaft I.

A horizontal shaft K is journaled at the side of the movable frame orcarriage adjacent to the horizontal frame A', and upon the said shaftare mounted the sprocket-wheels 7c lc. Similar wheels t' i are mountedupon the shaft I in alignment with the wheels 7c la, and over saidwheels are passed the chain belts L, said belts running in groovedtimbers L', which connect the shafts I and K. The belts L are providedwith cleats Z, which catch the boards as they are deposited and carrythem to the movable frame where they are deposited upon the drier-car ina manner hereinafter described, and it will be seen that as the movableframe, moves upward the shaft I will be moved inward toward the mainframe, thus permitting the inner end of the belt to be moved upwardwiththe frame or carriage. The timbers L support the Weight of the boards,thus preventing breakage of the belt.

Brackets or supports. Z are attached to the movable frame adjacent tothe sprocketwheels lc 7c, said supports projecting inwardly and adaptedto receive the boards as they are transferred from the belt preparatoryto being deposited upon the car, and the heights of the supports aresuch that their upper faces are flush with the upper face of the car orlayer of lumber held thereon.

Above the shaft K is journaled a shaft M,

Asaid shaft M carrying a pinion 'In -upon one end, which meshes with agear m', mounted upon the end of the shaft K. The shaft M is dividednear the pinion m, and is provided at that point with any preferred formof clutch mechanism, by means of which the major portion of the shaft Mmay be thrown in and out of operation. Sprocket-wheels m2 are mountedupon the shaft M between the sprockets 7c 7c. A shaft N is journaledupon the opposite side of the. movable frame .in

horizontal alignment with the shaft M, said shaft N having sprockets n nmounted thereada ted to encrage sto s o3 arranged-in the b C? 3 bupperportion of the movable frame, the purposes of which will appearfurther on. A

hand-lever m4 is connected with the clutch mechanism and extends withinreach of the operator standing upon the platform.

The machine being in operation and lumber being placed upon thefeed-belt, the boards will be carried up and deposited upon the bracketsor supports, one of the boards being pushed under the lumber-hooks. Theclutch mechanism is now out of gear and the stopso2 and o3 are inengagement with each other, the cord and Weight operating to eect thisresult. The lumber-hooks are by this means forced over the brackets andby throwing the clutch into gear Athe sprockets m2 are caused torevolve, moving the lumber-hooks away from the supports and over thecar, and

as the hooks engage a board it is carried back from the supports anddeposited upon the car in any particular place, the cord carrying theIIO weight having been wound upon the drum as catch another board, andbythrowing the clutch in, this board is carried back and placed upon thecar. These operations are continued until one layer of boards is placedupon the car, when the operator works the hand-rod, revolving thescrews, and elevating the movable frame, readyafor the next layer ofboards. Before this layer is deposited, however, it is necessary toplace a series of spacing-strips upon the layer previously laid. Thesestrips I prefer to place by machine, as it can be done much more easilyand accurately. In order to place the spacing-strips by machine Iarrange the said strips in boxes P, any desired number of boxes beingused, which boxes are suspended at aV suitable height Within the movableframe or carriage.

The boxes P are bottomless, and upononeI side of each box, near itslower ends, are -journaled casting-piecesp, each casting-piece having anoutwardly horizontally-projecting lug p formed thereon. A curvedspring-arm p2 is `secured to each casting-piece below the lug p', oneend of said arm having a downwardly-curved lfingerp3 attached thereto,said the said end to bear against the next loweststrip held Within thebox. The lugs p are connected by a pitman Q, said pit-man having alink-rod Q attached thereto, and upon the side of the movable frame ispivoted a rock-shaft R, having lever-arms R', to which the link-rods Qare attached. A lever S is attached to the end of the rock-shaft, saidlever being connected with a treadle S', and con-i nected with saidtreadle is a weighted lever S2. By depressing the treadleS the lever Sis operated, rocking the shaft P, and by working the i lever-arms R',link-rod Q, and pitman Q the spring-arms p2 are operated, throwing thelingers out from beneath the lowest strip and binding the opposite endof the spring-arm against the next lowest, holding said strip in the boxuntil the fingers are again placed beneath the box, ready to catch thestrip as it drops when the bindin g-end is released. 'The moment thetreadle is released of the pressure the weighted lever will throw theparts to their normal positions. As the treadle is operated by foot',the strips may b e deposited While the carriage isbeing raised.

In order to deposit the strips with accuracy I employ guides T, attachedto the lower corners of the box, the guides at the end adjacent to thebrackets or supports being pivoted to allow the boards to pass under,while at the opposite end a swinging guide is pivoted to the rigid pieceextending below the top of the car. This pivoted guide hangs in avertical posit-ion until the first board of the course is placed.Placing the board swings it out of vertical. The weight of board thenholds that end of the strip.

By means of the guides T, I am enabled to deposit the separating-stripsexactly in vertical alignment with the strips previously laid.

The machine can be regulatedto suit the capacity of the millbyincreasing or decreasing the number of lugs on the feed-chain.

In the drawings I have shown a construction by means of which an entirelayer of boards may be deposited upon the car at one time, and alsoaconstruction which prevents the chain sagging as it moves back andforth over the car. y

Referring to the drawings, W indicates iron bars bent upon themselves atw and secured at their ends to the movable frame B, as clearly shown,the lower portion of said rods extending entirely across the movableframe, and upon said lower portions are supported the hangers O4, whichare connected with the chain belts 0, and by this means the chain isprevented sagging as it moves back and forth over the car. .Parallelbars W are pivoted to the chain belts in the same maner as thelumber-hooks, said bars extending out beyond the movable frame and arecurved upwardly at their forward ends to pass freely over the boardsheld upon the conveyer-belt.V A series of dogs w are pivoted to the barsW', said dogs being adapted to engage the boards, and above each dog thebars are formed with flanges wz, against whichthe upper ends of the dogsengage when bound against the boards. The forward ends of the bars Wextend above the lower portions of the rods WV, and carry at their saidends pins which play upon the said rods, thus guiding the bars in theirlreciprocation. The end of the shaft N adjacent to the operator isextended beyond the movable frame B and upon said end is mounted a wheelN and pivoted to the side of the said movable frame is a brake-lever N2,which is held upon the wheel N by means of the cord N3 and weight N4.The weight N4 is of such size that it will prevent the weight n3unwinding the cord from the drum n', so that when the clutch used inmoving the hooks is released belts will not be drawn back but remainstationary. The weight required at N4 is not heavy and hangs in reach ofthe operator as he stands on the operating-platform, and when it isdesired to run the hooks backward a slight force applied under theweight N4 with the handwill allow them to do so.

The manner of operation is as follows: The

bars W4 being in operation, so that the stops O2 and O3 are in contactand the first pivoted dog (counting from the right) is over the place ofdelivery on the receiving-brackets, the feed-chains shove the boardalong under all the dogs and in front of the first one. The clutchmechanism being applied, the bars are drawn toward the car far enoughfor the second dog to receive the second board, and the brake N2 holdsthem in that position. When the second board has been received, they aremoved forward to receive the third, and so on IOO until the bars arefull, when the whole course is drawn onto the car; The operator nowlifts the weight and the hooks go back for another course. While thecourse is being collected the frame B can be raised and theseparating-strips placed ready to receive it by the time is is ready tobe placed onto the car.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new isi l. Thecombination, with the main frame A and horizontal frame A', of theverticallymovable frame or carriage, the shaft K, journaled at the sideof the said frame or carriage, the shaft I, having bearings pivotallyconnected with the frame A', the belt L, and gearing devices foroperating the said belt and the movable frame or carriage, substantiallyas shown anddescribed.

2. The combination, with a shaft mounted in pivotal bearings, of avertically-movable frame, a shaft mounted thereon, an endless beltconnecting the shafts, and grooved timbers also connecting the shaftsand in which the belt runs, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

3. The combination, with a main frame adapted to receive a car, of avertically-mov-- able frame adapted to travel on the main frame,` thesupports thereon adapted to receive the lumber, and a raking device onthe movable frame adapted to. rake the boards off the supports and placethem upon lthe car, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with a main frame adapted to receive a car, of 'asupport adapted to receive the boards preparatory to being depositedupon the car, a chain carrying lumber-hooks adapted to be moved back andforth over the supports and car, and means for operating the chain,substantially as shown and I described.

6. The combination,with the vertically-movable frame, ot the guide-rodssecured thereto, the chain belts, and the hangers connecting the chainbelt and guide, substantially as shown and described. p

7. The co1nbination,with the vertically-movable fra-me, of the beltsmounted thereon, the parallel bars secured to said belts, the series ofdogs pivoted to the said bars', andthe flanges arranged above the saiddogs, substantially as shown and described.

8. The combination, with the movable frame, of the chainbelts,guiderods, hangers, parallel bars, dogs pivoted thereto, and theflanges, all arranged substantially as shown and described.

9. The combination, with the bottomless box, of the castlng-piecespivoted near the lower ends of the saine, the spring-arms attached tothe casting-pieces, one end of said arm carrying a finger adapted toextend beneath .the box and the other end adapted to engage a strip, apitman connecting the casting-pieces, and means for operating thepitman, substantially as shown and described.

IIOVVARD DANIELS.

Witnesses: Y THos. L. WooDsIDE,

GEO. B. THRUsToN.

